Last Modified: Thursday, May 9, 2013 at 8:13 p.m.

House Bill 930 passed by a vote of 100-15, a strong bipartisan showing that McGrady called “sort of surprising.” Even the state’s first lady got involved, writing to a House judiciary committee Wednesday thanking them for approving the measure.

“It’s unusual to get a shout out from the governor’s wife,” McGrady said.

In her first foray into political advocacy, Ann McCrory sat in the House gallery Thursday while the chamber debated and voted to set minimum care standards at large commercial dog-breeding operations. The bill would make breaking the rules a misdemeanor.

The law requires what McGrady called a “common-sense sort of standards” for breeding operations, including giving dogs access to water, food, exercise, shelter, bedding and appropriate veterinary care. It applies only to breeders with 10 or more female dogs over six months old.

“I’m sure there’s going to be some number of people who look at this and say, ‘Gee, there are a lot of breeders that have five (females), so this isn’t going to catch them,’” McGrady said. “But you have to start somewhere. If, after a period of time, the problem across the state isn’t being addressed, we’ll see where we go with it.”

The owner of two goldendoodles, McGrady got involved with the bill as part of a working group with Rep. Nathan Ramsey (R-Buncombe) and several other junior Republican representatives concerned about puppy mills. Their work garnered support from the Humane Society of the United States, N.C. Voters for Animal Welfare and other groups.

In the past two years, the Humane Society has helped law enforcement rescue mistreated dogs from 13 large-scale commercial dog breeding operations across the state. North Carolina joins Vermont and West Virginia, which also recently passed laws against irresponsible dog-breeding practices.

“It’s not an issue that’s a concern, that I’m aware of, in Henderson County, but the experiences I heard from my colleagues and some of the pictures and tales from a range of people about the problem, led me to lend a hand in crafting the bill,” McGrady said.

<p>The N.C. House approved a bill Thursday, co-sponsored by Rep. Chuck McGrady (R-Henderson), to ensure commercial dog-breeding facilities treat their animals humanely. </p><p>House Bill 930 passed by a vote of 100-15, a strong bipartisan showing that McGrady called “sort of surprising.” Even the state's first lady got involved, writing to a House judiciary committee Wednesday thanking them for approving the measure.</p><p>“It's unusual to get a shout out from the governor's wife,” McGrady said.</p><p>In her first foray into political advocacy, Ann McCrory sat in the House gallery Thursday while the chamber debated and voted to set minimum care standards at large commercial dog-breeding operations. The bill would make breaking the rules a misdemeanor.</p><p>The law requires what McGrady called a “common-sense sort of standards” for breeding operations, including giving dogs access to water, food, exercise, shelter, bedding and appropriate veterinary care. It applies only to breeders with 10 or more female dogs over six months old.</p><p>“I'm sure there's going to be some number of people who look at this and say, 'Gee, there are a lot of breeders that have five (females), so this isn't going to catch them,'” McGrady said. “But you have to start somewhere. If, after a period of time, the problem across the state isn't being addressed, we'll see where we go with it.”</p><p>The owner of two goldendoodles, McGrady got involved with the bill as part of a working group with Rep. Nathan Ramsey (R-Buncombe) and several other junior Republican representatives concerned about puppy mills. Their work garnered support from the Humane Society of the United States, N.C. Voters for Animal Welfare and other groups.</p><p>In the past two years, the Humane Society has helped law enforcement rescue mistreated dogs from 13 large-scale commercial dog breeding operations across the state. North Carolina joins Vermont and West Virginia, which also recently passed laws against irresponsible dog-breeding practices.</p><p>“It's not an issue that's a concern, that I'm aware of, in Henderson County, but the experiences I heard from my colleagues and some of the pictures and tales from a range of people about the problem, led me to lend a hand in crafting the bill,” McGrady said.</p>